It seemed so harmless. Everyone was/is doing it. It would be fun. Ooooooo! And then I got the application for my phone. Facebook mobile! That's just what everyone needs! And so my journey into complete time wasting began. I started out just to catch up with people I'd not seen in forever. It was fun to see how people had changed and to see how their children had grown. But then I started "farming". And I couldn't possibly let my fake crops on my fake farm die and wither. What about all that fake money I'd lose? I actually only left Facebook three days ago. Just three. But so far...I love it. I was addicted and it was in control. Now, I am taking back control. Truth be told Facebook is a big reason I stopped blogging so much. Not only that but I also stopped interacting with my family. Cause when I was on Facebook, it was pretty much just me and the computer. Along with all this, these are other issues I've seen and struggled with:
*It's not secure. I know of several people whose accounts were hacked. The past 3 weeks Norton Antivirus has stopped 3 hacker/intruders to my computer system and every single time it did I was on Facebook. Coincidence? I don't know.
*It can be extremely petty. Do I really care what color you have painted your fingernails? Is this what I want to waste my time reading? Unfortunately, it was what I was spending my time reading.
*It can hurt people. Suppose you are having an outing with a friend and you post something in regards to that. What if another friend reads that and wonders why they were not invited? I know people should have thicker skin, but I'm just sayin'. I have purposely not posted things I've done with friends because I knew that someone else could/would get their feelings hurt. I'm serious.
Now, I'm absolutely not bashing everyone on Facebook. And at some point, I will maybe go back. What brought me to finally leaving (as I've struggled with it for weeks) is a whole post in itself which I will post later. These are just things that I was convicted about. I don't expect everyone to have the same convictions. Really, I don't. I did not want something controlling me. I did not like the example set for my children. And I did not like it for the above reasons I gave. If you are on Facebook, and you are in control of your time, and pleased with it, that is awesome. And I do know that there are some good ways to use Facebook. My pastor uses it as a ministry and outreach tool. And there are other good things or good reasons to be on Facebook, too. But for me, it became a bad thing, so I left. I once had to leave blogging, too. And when I could control it, I came back. So, eventually I will probably return to Facebook. Just not now.
5 comments:
I wish I could leave facebook. I don't do any of the games and such, but all my family (which live thousands of mile away) is on there. No one calls or emails anymore. It's all facebook. Blech.
oh i really get it.
especially the farm thing. i was addicted and then the busyness of Christmas happened... and my farm wasn't so important. and that was good. so i'm not quitting facebook (me, the original facebook hater!) but since quitting the farm i only check it about once a day. and that works for me.
kat, sounds like you are setting your life back in order. setting your priorities back where you need 'em! good for you!
I know I spend WAY too much time on it...it's so easy to get caught up in all the fluff on it. My deal is I need to be on there for various reasons...church, Butterfly Genes, etc. It's sooooo easy to say, "Oh, I'll just play for a minute." And thirty minutes later I'm looking at the clock with my jaw dropped not thinking it seemed like 5 minutes!
I actually have gotten better about it. I have learned how to streamline my farm. BAAAAHAHAHAHA!
Yeah. Whatever. : )
I really admire your honesty here and applaud you for doing something about it.
I recently started being on there more lately, but I really don't get it. All the people from the past - I am ready to delete them- there is no real connection.
All their game playing results coming in to tell me; I don't need that info. I have been debating what to do-
I like my blog and my little community here and I like facebook for birding info and sites. I need to take control and clean up my act too. Lots of wasted precious time. Thanks Kat.
It's a good feeling isn't it?? I never got into the farming aspect of FB but could wasted plenty of time playing Bejeweled Blitz. Since taking my hiatus, I have more time for laundry, blogging (which I terribly missed), and reading real books (like the bible). I felt like I was a slave to FB in some ways. It was the first thing I did in the mornings and the last thing I did at night. I may not go back to FB and I am ok with it. Proud of you!!
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